TEXBIRD’25, Day D-1: The Gear

Packing for long bike trips gets easier with each one, since I can start with the packing list from the previous one. I carry all my gear in two large Ortleib waterproof panniers in the rear, two smaller Ortliebs in the front, and a handlebar bag. My cell phone, bike computer, GoPro, and dog horn are mounted on or near the handlebars. The only thing on top of the rear rack is my crocs, and rain pants when I bring them.

For TEXBIRD, the weather in west texas in October/November looks much warmer than the temperatures in the higher elevations on the western 1000 miles of the Southern Tier Bike Route that I did in February/March. So I was able to save some weight by leaving home my rain pants, down coat, long sleeve merino wool shirt, and mittens.

My total weight (everything other than my body) is still pretty high at 92 pounds. But to compare that to backpacking, I should subtract the things I am wearing, like helmet, bike shoes, and clothes. If I also subtract consumables (food and water), then my “base weight” is 79 pounds.

And if I subtract my bike, which is 36 pounds including the racks and heavier tires, then my actual gear weight is 43 pounds. That still seems high from a backpacking perspective, but I need to remember that 10 pounds of that is just electronics! This is a category that didn’t even exist when I started doing long bike trips in the 1970 and 80s.
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But I tell myself that I’m not lugging along all this camera gear on a bike trip. Rather, I am on a filming expedition that happens to be on a bicycle.

My Mini 4 Pro drone weighs only 6 ounces, but when you add the batteries, controller, carrying case, spare propellers, etc., it’s almost three pounds. But man, the footage from above can be EPIC! I am also carrying a Go-Pro on a tripod stick, and of course my cell phone, along with a lot of wires and a big charger and charging bricks.

The charging apparatus is not just for cameras. I now have to charge my bike computer, my biking headlight, my camping headlamp, my flashing taillight, my Kindle, my headphones, my Garmin watch, my Apple watch, my iphone, and more. Sometimes finding an outlet is the main focus of my day, sadly.

Anyway, riding with this much weight is WAY different than normal biking, such as a day ride or a supported ride like RAGBRAI where they haul your gear each day. The equivalent comparison would be backpacking versus running a 5K. If you have adequately low gear ratios, it’s not too bad, but you definitely need to adjust your expectations of how far you can bike each day, since you’re traveling much slower.

It is a great way to see the country, though, one pedal revolution at a time. Tomorrow I fly to El Paso, and Tuesday I start to ride!

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TRANSLATIONS/BACKGROUND: “TEXBIRD” = Texas Bike Ride, my own nickname for the 800 miles in the middle of Southern Tier Bicycle Route, from El Paso to Austin, using maps from ACA (Adventure Cycling Association). This will complete my ride of the Southern Tier from the Pacific Ocean (San Diego) to the Atlantic Ocean (Jacksonville). (I biked the 1500 miles from Austin to Jacksonville in March 2024, and the 1000 miles from San Diego to El Paso in February 2025.)